‘Surprise’ in Canada as NYC buses migrants to border

An immigration official in the Canadian province of Quebec has mentioned it’s “surprising” to be taught that New York City is sending migrants to the nation’s border.

New York City mayor Eric Adams informed Fox 5 that his administration was helping migrants who had been despatched to his metropolis however needed to go elsewhere.

“Some want to go to Canada, some want to go to warmer states, and we are there for them as they continue to move on with their pursuit of this dream,” Mr Adams mentioned.

The New York Post has reported that migrants in New York City are being given free bus tickets to Plattsburgh, New York state, about 20 miles (32km) south of the Canadian border. From there, they pay taxis and shuttles to take them to Quebec.

Quebec immigration minister Christine Fréchette informed reporters in Montreal that the event was “surprising”.

She mentioned it highlighted the necessity to “solve the problem of Roxham Road”, referring to an unofficial border crossing south of Montreal utilized by hundreds of asylum seekers yearly.

“I think it makes the urgency of the situation even more apparent,” Ms Fréchette mentioned, including that Canada and the US have been negotiating to replace the Safe Third Country Agreement.

The treaty, signed in 2002, requires migrants to make an asylum declare in the primary nation they enter, whether or not it’s the US or Canada.

But it solely applies at official border crossings, which Roxham Road will not be. This loophole permits the migrants arriving from New York to have their asylum instances heard by Canadian immigration authorities.

New York City has an ongoing migrant disaster, as states on the southern US border bus newly arrived migrants to America’s most populous metropolis.

In a January go to to Texas, Mayor Adams informed reporters there was “no room in New York” for the migrants.

Days earlier than, he had launched a press release saying his metropolis had welcomed 40,000 asylum seekers since final spring, offering them with meals, shelter and different sources.

“We are at our breaking point,” the assertion learn. “Based off our projections, we anticipate being unable to continue sheltering arriving asylum seekers on our own and have submitted an emergency mutual aid request to the State of New York.”

Mr Adams confirmed to Fox 5 on Monday that town was offering free bus tickets for migrants.

“If they are seeking to go somewhere else, we are helping in the reticketing process,” he mentioned.